Creating an immersive Air Force Academy visitor experience
A new U.S. Air Force Academy visitor center — opened in 2026 — creates an interactive showcase for one of the nation's leading institutions known for forging leaders of character.Located just outside the Academy’s expanding North Gate, the Hosmer Visitor Center is named in honor of Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Bradley Hosmer ’59 and his spouse, Zita. It replaces the Goldwater Visitor Center, which operated for nearly 40 years west of the Cadet Area. Gen. Hosmer is the Academy’s first graduate and first Rhodes scholar, as well as the first graduate to serve as USAFA superintendent.
The Hosmer Visitor Center serves as a prominent new front door for the Air Force Academy. Its designation as an official Colorado Welcome Center and Visit Colorado Springs destination and its easy access just off Interstate 25 improves visibility, access and exposure to the Air Force Academy, which commissions nearly 1,000 Air Force and Space Force officers every year.
Transforming the visitor experience
The Hosmer Visitor Center was designed to look like wings in flight. Throughout the center’s seven galleries and theater, visitors learn about and experience a day in an Air Force Academy cadet’s life, a cadet’s four-year journey at the Academy and many other unique aspects of the service academy’s programming. All of it is brought to life through state-of-the-art technology and experiential storytelling that leaves visitors – especially young people – inspired to live a life of service.
Because it has no admission fee, access immediately off Exit 156 on Interstate 25 and Hotel Polaris a few steps away via a pedestrian bridge, Academy officials anticipate high traffic in the 32,000-square-foot Hosmer Visitor Center year-round. With an anticipated 1 million visitors annually to the visitor center and hotel combined, the Air Force Academy can be a prime destination for travelers.
Visitors can expect:
- 34,000 square feet of space offering themed galleries with immersive and educational experiences for audiences of all ages.
- Audio experiences of cadets reciting the Air Force and Space Force core values, the Cadet Wing marching in a parade and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flying over graduation.
- A campus map highlighting cadet movements throughout a typical day.
- A focus on academics, athletics, military training and the future fight.
- A showcase of time-honored traditions, celebrations and other experiences that unify graduates and cadets, such as graduation, Recognition and Promotion, basic cadet training, Ring Dance and more.
- Coming soon: A 40-seat theater providing viewers a closer look into the 47-month journey, as well as other special feature shows.
- Coming soon: Two immersive exhibits, including parachuting, powered flight, gliders, an obstacle course and the 10-meter diving platform.
Naming and
recognition opportunities
From reinforcing the Academy’s core values — integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do — to capturing the whirlwind pace of cadet life, the Hosmer Visitor Center celebrates what it takes to develop leaders of character.
To ensure the visitor center’s ability to effectively reach and connect with a large and varied audience, the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation has identified several naming and recognition opportunities throughout the Hosmer Visitor Center to elevate the visitor experience while keeping it available to all visitors and travelers. Donations will help outfit the Hosmer Visitor Center and offset costs of technology needs, ongoing maintenance and more.
Your strong and positive connection to the U.S. Air Force Academy can inspire others who experience this new immersive adventure at the north entrance to the installation. Contact the development team at the Association & Foundation for more information about supporting the Hosmer Visitor Center.
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